Narrator Kathleen McInerney flawlessly depicts the joys and sorrows of 11-year-old Thyme Owens and her family as they move to New York City from San Diego to treat 5-year-old Val's nerve cancer. Listeners hear Thyme's first-person perspective as she hopes for her brother's full recovery and feel her conflicting emotions as she longs for her old life. She keeps pieces of paper that note time she "earns" doing her chores, hoping to use the time to visit California. McInerney's thoughtful rendering of Val is inspiring and heartbreaking as he bravely faces his treatments. The parents' contrasting personalities and glimpses of Thyme's school life and first crush add moments of normalcy. COUNTING THYME will help other middle schoolers coping with similar situations.
(Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 12, 2016
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780147525680
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Live Oak Media recently caught our attention with this new read-along book and cassette program. We listened first, and were so delighted we couldn't wait to get the book. The picture book made the experience even better, but the audio recordings was strong and vibrant by itself. THE GARDENER, Sarah Stewart's Depression-era story of a young girl sent to live with her Uncle Jim in the city has a sweet, wistful quality with narration alone, but coupled with David Small's soft-edged pencil illustration, it's a total delight. The reading is repeated on both sides of the tape, one with and without page-turning signals.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Live Oak Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant.
Samara Naeymi beautifully narrates this middle-grade novel about an Iranian American girl. Bullied by her classmates for her frizzy hair and thick eyebrows and criticized by her mother for her weight, Yasmin struggles to be her authentic self in a world that tells her she's not good enough. There are many different perspectives in this story, and Naeymi is true to each: Yasmin’s judgmental mother, with her Persian accent and steely belief in her own harsh parenting; the ruthless teenagers whose hurtful comments cause emotional harm; the younger brother concerned for his sister's unhappiness; and the tried-and-true best friend.
Naeymi’s narration is both raw and triumphant. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 24, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9798349114861
Publisher: Dreamscape
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2026
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